The French Revolution took place in the late 18th century and left France in complete disarray. The French Revolution is known for being extremely gruesome. The peasantry overthrew the oppressive First Estate using extreme brutality and violence. Charles Dickens describes the struggles people faced during the French Revolution in his classic novel “A Tale of Two Cities”. One of the main characters in “A Tale of Two Cities” is Charles Darnay, a member of the First Estate. He had left France for England before the Revolution had ignited, so he was safe. While he was in England, he had received a letter from his former servant Gabelle, who was asking for help. Gabelle was captured and soon to be killed by the third estate. Darnay made the decision
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Darnay was originally from the First Estate, but he gave it up because he realized that the First Estate was powerful because it was reaping the benefits of the Third Estates’ oppression. Darnay believed that “having some sympathy, for the miserable people, and having abandoned something for them… might have the power to persuade [the Third Estate] to some restraint” (182). He figured that if he spoke to the Third Estate, they would listen to him because he was a fellow frenchman and because he gave up his social standing to help them. In reality, the Third Estate would absolutely not listen to him because they knew he was originally from the First Estate. Darnay is also clueless as to how brutal the revolution is. The storming of the Bastille was especially gruesome. There were so many revolutionaries there that they were described as a “sea of black and threatening waters and of destructive upheaving of wave against wave, whose depths were yet unfathomed and whose forces were yet unknown”(169). The sea of black was a metaphor used to describe the large amount of revolutionaries there were. The Bastille was a symbol of the First Estates power, and the destruction of it symbolized how brutal the revolutionaries were. Darnay had absolutely no idea about how many revolutionaries there were or how violent the revolution
Darnay was originally from the First Estate, but he gave it up because he realized that the First Estate was powerful because it was reaping the benefits of the Third Estates’ oppression. Darnay believed that “having some sympathy, for the miserable people, and having abandoned something for them… might have the power to persuade [the Third Estate] to some restraint” (182). He figured that if he spoke to the Third Estate, they would listen to him because he was a fellow frenchman and because he gave up his social standing to help them. In reality, the Third Estate would absolutely not listen to him because they knew he was originally from the First Estate. Darnay is also clueless as to how brutal the revolution is. The storming of the Bastille was especially gruesome. There were so many revolutionaries there that they were described as a “sea of black and threatening waters and of destructive upheaving of wave against wave, whose depths were yet unfathomed and whose forces were yet unknown”(169). The sea of black was a metaphor used to describe the large amount of revolutionaries there were. The Bastille was a symbol of the First Estates power, and the destruction of it symbolized how brutal the revolutionaries were. Darnay had absolutely no idea about how many revolutionaries there were or how violent the revolution